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Jeremiah 44

ירמיהו פרק מ״ד

Section: נביאים · נביאים אחרונים | Book: Jeremiah | Chapter: 44 of 52 | Day: 257 of 742

Date: October 26, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

Chapter 44 is the last prophecy Yirmiyahu is recorded as delivering to his own people, and it is spoken not in Yerushalayim, not in the courtyard of the guard, and not at Mitzpah, but in Egypt. The heading addresses ‘all the Judeans living in the land of Egypt,’ and then names their settlements: Migdol and Tachpanches on the eastern frontier of the Delta, Nof (Memphis) at the head of the Delta, and the land of Patros in the south. Metzudat David notes that the verse first speaks generally of those who dwell in Egypt and then spells out the places, all of which belong to Egypt. In chapter 43 the remnant had only just arrived at Tachpanches; here it has spread through the whole length of the country. The prophet who had been carried there against his will (43:6) now speaks to every corner of this new diaspora at once, and what he finds there is the old sin of Yerushalayim transplanted whole into Egyptian soil.

The address falls into two speeches separated by the people’s defiant reply. The first speech (verses 2-14) begins as a history lesson. You have seen, says God, all the evil I brought on Yerushalayim and on the cities of Yehudah; they are a ruin today and no one lives in them. The cause was the offering of incense to other gods whom, as Metzudat David puts it, no one had ever known, neither they nor you nor your fathers (verse 3). Radak reads the clause slightly differently, attributing the evil to the inhabitants of the ruined cities, who died or were exiled, and to ‘you and your fathers’ who did not know these gods either. Then comes the familiar refrain of the book: I sent you all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending (השכם ושלח), saying ‘please do not do this abominable thing that I hate’ (verse 4). Metzudat David catches the tone of the plea: as though to say, even if until now you have done evil, do not do it now. The people did not listen, and so God’s fury was poured out (ותתך חמתי) and the cities became a desolation ‘as on this day’.

The turn comes at verse 7: and now, why are you doing great evil to your own souls (אל נפשותיכם)? Metzudat David explains that you are harming yourselves, for God will cut off from you man and woman, child and infant. The logic is simple and devastating. The refugees in Egypt are the survivors of a catastrophe caused by idolatry, and they are repeating the idolatry that caused it. Verse 9 asks with bitter irony, have you forgotten (השכחתם) the evils of your fathers, the evils of the kings of Yehudah and the evils of his wives, your own evils and the evils of your wives? Metzudat David reads the question as a rebuke rather than a real inquiry: surely you have not yet forgotten. The mention of the royal wives is pointed. Radak explains that ‘his wives’ means the wives of each and every king, and recalls Maacha, the mother of King Asa, who made an abominable image for the Asherah (I Kings 15:13). The women of the community are named twice in the verse, and the reason will become clear when the women themselves answer. The diagnosis follows in verse 10: they were not crushed (לא דכאו) to this day. Rashi explains that their hearts were not crushed because of their evil, and Radak that they did not humble themselves before the punishment that had overtaken them.

The sentence that follows mirrors the language of chapter 42 almost word for word, and it applies the curse of 42:15-18 to people who have now done exactly what they were warned not to do. God will set His face against them (שם פני), which Metzudat David explains as directing His providence toward them to bring evil. The remnant who set their faces to come to Egypt will be consumed there by sword and famine, great and small, and become an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach; Metzudat David explains that the nations will swear by them and use their downfall as a formula of malediction. God will punish the dwellers in Egypt as He punished Yerushalayim (verse 13). Verse 14 adds the cruelest touch: no survivor will return to the land of Yehudah, though they lift up their souls (מנשאים את נפשם) to return and dwell there. Metzudat David notes that the refugees still hoped and promised themselves that they would one day return, and that the verse is elliptical: none will return except a handful who escape the sword. Rashi identifies these fugitives (פלטים) from Seder Olam: Yirmiyahu and Baruch, who were taken out of Egypt by Nevuchadnetzar when Egypt fell into his hand in the twenty-seventh year of his reign.

The people’s reply (verses 15-19) is one of the most remarkable speeches in the prophetic literature, because it is not evasion but argument. It comes from all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by in a great assembly, and all the people living in Patros. ‘The word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD — we will not listen to you.’ Instead, they say, we will surely do everything that has gone out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven (מלכת השמים) and pour libations to her, as we did, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Yehudah and the streets of Yerushalayim, and then we had plenty of bread and were well and saw no evil. Since we stopped, we have lacked everything and been consumed by sword and famine. The commentators identify this worship. Metzudat David explains that it was the great star of the heavens, the sun, called a queen as though it reigned over all the rest. Radak offers first that the word should be read as מלאכת, missing an aleph — the ‘work of the heavens,’ the stars that are God’s handiwork — and then the alternative from the root of kingship, the sun as ruler of the other luminaries, noting Targum Yonatan’s rendering ‘the star of the heavens.’ This is the same worship Yirmiyahu had already described in the streets of Yerushalayim in 7:18, where the children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven. Radak on verse 18 adds a sharp historical observation: in truth they never stopped. What they meant was that whatever evil came upon them came only because they had grown less zealous than before, and it is to this claim that the prophet replies. The women then speak for themselves: is it without our husbands (המבלעדי אנשינו) that we made cakes in her image (כונים להעצבה) and poured libations? Rashi explains that the cakes were molded in the shape of an image, and Radak that the women name themselves because they were the principal actors. Metzudat David hears in their words a challenge to the prophet: why rebuke us, so that our husbands will protest our actions? Their husbands are with us.

The argument from experience had real force: the years of Menashe, when the worship flourished, were stable, while the years after Yoshiyahu’s reform brought his death at Megiddo, subjugation and destruction. Yirmiyahu’s second speech (verses 20-23) answers by turning the chronology around. The incense you burned in the cities of Yehudah, you and your fathers, your kings, your princes and the people of the land — the LORD remembered it and it came upon His heart. Metzudat David explains that although God did not exact punishment at once, He did not forget; Radak and Metzudat David both note the plural ‘them’ because each of the many gods had its own incense. The delay was patience, not approval, and when God could bear it no longer (ולא יוכל), as Rashi glosses the form, the land became a desolation. It is not because you stopped, says Metzudat David on verse 23, that this evil befell you, but because you burned incense in the first place.

The final speech (verses 24-30) is addressed especially to the women and contains one of the most bitter ironies in the book. You and your wives have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands; Metzudat David explains that the husbands and wives are of one mind and the women only say what the men have instructed them. So, God says, go ahead: surely establish your vows and surely perform your vows (הקים תקימנה… ועשה תעשינה). The sarcastic permission is followed by an oath by God’s great name that His name will no longer be invoked in the mouth of any man of Yehudah in all of Egypt saying ‘as the Lord GOD lives.’ Radak explains that since they will not listen to what the prophet says in God’s name, His name will no longer be mentioned by them, and he qualifies ‘every man’ to mean most of them, for there were righteous people among them such as Yirmiyahu and Baruch. God will watch over them (שוקד) for evil and not for good, a sinister reversal of the almond-branch vision of the prophet’s call (1:11-12), where God watched over His word to perform it. Only a few, the ‘men of number’ (מתי מספר), will return; Radak again names Yirmiyahu, Baruch and a few other righteous. Then all the remnant will know ‘whose word will stand, Mine or theirs.’

The chapter ends with a sign. Pharaoh Chofra (Hophra), the king in whose shadow the refugees sought shelter, will be handed over to his enemies just as Tzidkiyahu was given into the hand of Nevuchadnetzar. Metzudat David explains that every king of Egypt was called Pharaoh and that this one’s personal name was Chofra; Rashi cites Targum Yonatan’s ‘Pharaoh the broken’ (פרעה תבירא), reading the chet in place of a heh, and Radak records both explanations. Radak explains that when the refugees see Nevuchadnetzar soon come against Pharaoh, as the prophet foretold, they will know that their own end in Egypt is sealed. The comparison with Tzidkiyahu is deliberate: the refugees had placed their trust in an Egyptian king exactly as Tzidkiyahu had trusted Egypt against Bavel, and the outcome would be the same. The book that began with the call ‘to uproot and to tear down, to build and to plant’ ends its account of the prophet’s ministry not with reconciliation but with a community that has chosen, in full knowledge, the gods of its fathers over the God of its fathers. Yet even in this darkest chapter the promise of ‘a few survivors’ holds open a door. The word of God will stand, and those who return will be its witnesses.

פרק מ״ד · Chapter 44

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָיָ֣ה אֶֽל־יִרְמְיָ֔הוּ אֶ֚ל כׇּל־הַיְּהוּדִ֔ים הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם הַיֹּשְׁבִ֤ים בְּמִגְדֹּל֙ וּבְתַחְפַּנְחֵ֣ס וּבְנֹ֔ף וּבְאֶ֥רֶץ פַּתְר֖וֹס לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Judeans living in the land of Egypt, living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Noph, and in the land of Pathros:

The heading of Yirmiyahu's last recorded prophecy addresses every Judean community in Egypt at once: Migdol and Tachpanches on the eastern frontier, Nof (Memphis), and the land of Patros in the south. Metzudat David notes that the verse first speaks of all who dwell in Egypt and then spells out the places, all of them in Egypt. The refugees have spread through the whole country and are settling in.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר יְהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֗ם אֵ֤ת כׇּל־הָֽרָעָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר הֵבֵ֙אתִי֙ עַל־יְר֣וּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם וְעַ֖ל כׇּל־עָרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֑ה וְהִנָּ֤ם חׇרְבָּה֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה וְאֵ֥ין בָּהֶ֖ם יוֹשֵֽׁב׃

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and on all the towns of Judah. They are a ruin today, and no one inhabits them,

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

מִפְּנֵ֣י רָעָתָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ לְהַכְעִסֵ֔נִי לָלֶ֣כֶת לְקַטֵּ֔ר לַעֲבֹ֖ד לֵאלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יְדָע֔וּם הֵ֖מָּה אַתֶּ֥ם וַאֲבֹתֵיכֶֽם׃

English:

on account of the wicked things they did to vex Me, going to make offerings in worship of other gods that they had not known—neither they nor you nor your ancestors.

The cause of the destruction is restated: they angered God by burning incense and serving other gods whom, as Metzudat David explains, no one had ever known -- neither they nor you nor your fathers. Radak reads 'they' as the dead or exiled inhabitants of the ruined cities, adding that 'you and your fathers' did not know these gods either. The exiles are about to repeat this very sin.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וָאֶשְׁלַ֤ח אֲלֵיכֶם֙ אֶת־כׇּל־עֲבָדַ֣י הַנְּבִיאִ֔ים הַשְׁכֵּ֥ים וְשָׁלֹ֖חַ לֵאמֹ֑ר אַל־נָ֣א תַעֲשׂ֗וּ אֵ֛ת דְּבַֽר־הַתֹּעֵבָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׂנֵֽאתִי׃

English:

Yet I persistently sent to you all My servants the prophets, to say, “I beg you not to do this abominable thing that I hate.”

God recalls His persistent warnings: I sent all My servants the prophets, rising early and sending, pleading 'please do not do this abominable thing that I hate.' Metzudat David explains the idiom as sending with great eagerness, and hears in the plea a gentle tone -- even if you have done evil until now, do not do it now. The abomination, he notes, is the worship of idols.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ וְלֹא־הִטּ֣וּ אֶת־אׇזְנָ֔ם לָשׁ֖וּב מֵרָעָתָ֑ם לְבִלְתִּ֥י קַטֵּ֖ר לֵאלֹהִ֥ים אֲחֵרִֽים׃

English:

But they would not listen or give ear, to turn back from their wickedness and not make offerings to other gods;

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַתִּתַּ֤ךְ חֲמָתִי֙ וְאַפִּ֔י וַתִּבְעַר֙ בְּעָרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה וּבְחֻצ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וַתִּהְיֶ֛ינָה לְחׇרְבָּ֥ה לִשְׁמָמָ֖ה כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

so My fierce anger was poured out, and it blazed against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. And they became a desolate ruin, as they still are today.

Therefore God's fury and anger were poured out (ותתך) and burned in the cities of Yehudah and the streets of Yerushalayim, leaving them a desolation. Metzudat David connects the outpouring directly to the refusal of the previous verse and explains 'as on this day' as the present reality: the cities still lie in ruins, a fact the refugees in Egypt can see behind them.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֡ה כֹּה־אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָה֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י צְבָא֜וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל לָמָה֩ אַתֶּ֨ם עֹשִׂ֜ים רָעָ֤ה גְדוֹלָה֙ אֶל־נַפְשֹׁ֣תֵכֶ֔ם לְהַכְרִ֨ית לָכֶ֧ם אִישׁ־וְאִשָּׁ֛ה עוֹלֵ֥ל וְיוֹנֵ֖ק מִתּ֣וֹךְ יְהוּדָ֑ה לְבִלְתִּ֛י הוֹתִ֥יר לָכֶ֖ם שְׁאֵרִֽית׃

English:

And now, thus said the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: Why are you doing such great harm to yourselves, so that every man and woman, child and infant of yours shall be cut off from the midst of Judah, and no remnant shall be left of you?

The rebuke turns to the present: why are you doing great evil to your own souls? Metzudat David explains that the harm falls on themselves, for repeating the sin will cut off man and woman, child and infant, from the midst of Yehudah, leaving no remnant. The survivors of the catastrophe are about to destroy themselves by repeating the cause of it.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

לְהַכְעִסֵ֙נִי֙ בְּמַעֲשֵׂ֣י יְדֵיכֶ֔ם לְקַטֵּ֞ר לֵאלֹהִ֤ים אֲחֵרִים֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם אֲשֶׁר־אַתֶּ֥ם בָּאִ֖ים לָג֣וּר שָׁ֑ם לְמַ֙עַן֙ הַכְרִ֣ית לָכֶ֔ם וּלְמַ֤עַן הֱיֽוֹתְכֶם֙ לִקְלָלָ֣ה וּלְחֶרְפָּ֔ה בְּכֹ֖ל גּוֹיֵ֥ הָאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

For you vex Me by your deeds, making offering to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to sojourn, so that you shall be cut off and become a curse and a mockery among all the nations of earth.

God explains how they are harming themselves: by angering Him with the work of their hands, burning incense to other gods in the very land of Egypt where they came to sojourn. Metzudat David explains the result: the nations will use them as a curse formula, wishing their enemies to become like them, and all will heap reproach upon them.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

הַֽשְׁכַחְתֶּם֩ אֶת־רָע֨וֹת אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֜ם וְאֶת־רָע֣וֹת ׀ מַלְכֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֗ה וְאֵת֙ רָע֣וֹת נָשָׁ֔יו וְאֵת֙ רָעֹ֣תֵכֶ֔ם וְאֵ֖ת רָעֹ֣ת נְשֵׁיכֶ֑ם אֲשֶׁ֤ר עָשׂוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ יְהוּדָ֔ה וּבְחֻצ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלָֽ͏ִם׃

English:

Have you forgotten the wicked acts of your ancestors, of the kings of Judah and their wives, and your own wicked acts and those of your wives, that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

A bitter rhetorical question: have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, of the kings of Yehudah and their wives, and your own evils and your wives'? Metzudat David reads it as 'surely you have not yet forgotten.' Radak explains 'his wives' as the wives of each king, recalling Maacha, who made an abominable image for the Asherah -- a pointed preview of the women's defiance to come.

פסוק י׳ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

לֹ֣א דֻכְּא֔וּ עַ֖ד הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְלֹ֣א יָֽרְא֗וּ וְלֹא־הָלְכ֤וּ בְתֽוֹרָתִי֙ וּבְחֻקֹּתַ֔י אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לִפְנֵיכֶ֖ם וְלִפְנֵ֥י אֲבוֹתֵיכֶֽם׃ {ס}         

English:

No one has shown contrition to this day, and no one has shown reverence. You have not followed the Teaching and the laws that I set before you and before your ancestors.

The diagnosis: they were not crushed (לא דכאו) to this day. Rashi explains that their hearts were not broken over their evil; Radak, that they did not humble themselves even before the punishment that overtook them; Metzudat David, that they still did not submit or fear God. The destruction itself had produced no contrition and no return to God's Torah and statutes.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לא דוכאו. לבם מרעתם:
They were not crushed Their hearts were not crushed because of their evil.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר יְהֹוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הִנְנִ֨י שָׂ֥ם פָּנַ֛י בָּכֶ֖ם לְרָעָ֑ה וּלְהַכְרִ֖ית אֶת־כׇּל־יְהוּדָֽה׃

English:

Assuredly, thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to set My face against you for punishment, to cut off all of Judah.

Therefore God declares that He will set His face against them for evil, to cut off all of Yehudah. Metzudat David explains 'I will set My face' as directing His providence toward them to bring the punishment. The language echoes the warning of chapter 42, now applied to people who did exactly what they were told not to do.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וְלָקַחְתִּ֞י אֶת־שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יְהוּדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר־שָׂ֨מוּ פְנֵיהֶ֜ם לָב֣וֹא אֶרֶץ־מִצְרַ֘יִם֮ לָג֣וּר שָׁם֒ וְתַ֨מּוּ כֹ֜ל בְּאֶ֧רֶץ מִצְרַ֣יִם יִפֹּ֗לוּ בַּחֶ֤רֶב בָּרָעָב֙ יִתַּ֔מּוּ מִקָּטֹן֙ וְעַד־גָּד֔וֹל בַּחֶ֥רֶב וּבָרָעָ֖ב יָמֻ֑תוּ וְהָיוּ֙ לְאָלָ֣ה לְשַׁמָּ֔ה וְלִקְלָלָ֖ה וּלְחֶרְפָּֽה׃

English:

I will take the remnant of Judah who turned their faces toward the land of Egypt, to go and sojourn there, and they shall be utterly consumed in the land of Egypt. They shall fall by the sword, they shall be consumed by famine; great and small alike shall die by the sword and by famine, and they shall become an execration and a desolation, a curse and a mockery.

God will take the remnant that set their faces to come to Egypt, and they will be consumed there by sword and famine, great and small alike. Metzudat David explains that 'I will take them' means to the evil, that all will perish, and that they will become an oath, an astonishment, a curse and a reproach -- people will swear by them, marvel at their fall, and curse with their name.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וּפָקַדְתִּ֗י עַ֤ל הַיּֽוֹשְׁבִים֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר פָּקַ֖דְתִּי עַל־יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם בַּחֶ֖רֶב בָּרָעָ֥ב וּבַדָּֽבֶר׃

English:

I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt as I punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence.

God will punish those dwelling in Egypt as He punished Yerushalayim, with sword, famine and pestilence. Metzudat David explains 'I will visit' as God's providence turning to exact payment from them, the three scourges being the instruments of that recompense. Egypt, chosen as a refuge from the fate of Yerushalayim, will deliver the same fate.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וְלֹ֨א יִהְיֶ֜ה פָּלִ֤יט וְשָׂרִיד֙ לִשְׁאֵרִ֣ית יְהוּדָ֔ה הַבָּאִ֥ים לָגֽוּר־שָׁ֖ם בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם וְלָשׁ֣וּב ׀ אֶ֣רֶץ יְהוּדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁר־הֵ֜מָּה מְנַשְּׂאִ֤ים אֶת־נַפְשָׁם֙ לָשׁוּב֙ לָשֶׁ֣בֶת שָׁ֔ם כִּ֥י לֹֽא־יָשׁ֖וּבוּ כִּ֥י אִם־פְּלֵטִֽים׃ {פ}

English:

Of the remnant of Judah who came to sojourn here in the land of Egypt, no survivor or fugitive shall be left to return to the land of Judah. Though they all long to return and dwell there, none shall return except [a few] survivors.

No survivor will return to Yehudah, though they lift up their souls in longing to return. Metzudat David notes that they still hoped and promised themselves a return, and that the verse is elliptical: only those who escape the sword will come back. Rashi, citing Seder Olam, identifies these few as Yirmiyahu and Baruch, taken out when Nevuchadnetzar conquered Egypt in his twenty-seventh year.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כי אם פליטים. ירמיה וברוך חזרו לשם שהגלה נבוכדנאצר כשנתנה ארץ מצרים בידו בעשרים ושבע למלכו (יחזקאל כט) כך שנויה בסדר עולם:
only fugitives Jeremiah and Baruch returned from there, for Nebuchadnezzar exiled them when the land of Egypt was delivered into his hand in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (Ezek. 29:17). So we learned in Seder Olam (ch. 26).

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיַּעֲנ֣וּ אֶֽת־יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ כׇּל־הָאֲנָשִׁ֤ים הַיֹּֽדְעִים֙ כִּֽי־מְקַטְּר֤וֹת נְשֵׁיהֶם֙ לֵאלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וְכׇל־הַנָּשִׁ֥ים הָעֹמְד֖וֹת קָהָ֣ל גָּד֑וֹל וְכׇל־הָעָ֛ם הַיֹּשְׁבִ֥ים בְּאֶרֶץ־מִצְרַ֖יִם בְּפַתְר֥וֹס לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Thereupon they answered Jeremiah—all the men who knew that their wives made offerings to other gods; all the women present, a large gathering; and all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt:

The reply comes from a broad coalition: the men who knew their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing in a great assembly, and all the people living in Patros. Metzudat David explains that the women were present at that gathering in large numbers, that the rest of the people followed their lead, and that Patros is part of Egypt.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

הַדָּבָ֛ר אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּ֥רְתָּ אֵלֵ֖ינוּ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהֹוָ֑ה אֵינֶ֥נּוּ שֹׁמְעִ֖ים אֵלֶֽיךָ׃

English:

“We will not listen to you in the matter about which you spoke to us in the name of GOD.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

כִּי֩ עָשֹׂ֨ה נַעֲשֶׂ֜ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־הַדָּבָ֣ר ׀ אֲשֶׁר־יָצָ֣א מִפִּ֗ינוּ לְקַטֵּ֞ר לִמְלֶ֣כֶת הַשָּׁמַ֘יִם֮ וְהַסֵּֽיךְ־לָ֣הּ נְסָכִים֒ כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשִׂ֜ינוּ אֲנַ֤חְנוּ וַאֲבֹתֵ֙ינוּ֙ מְלָכֵ֣ינוּ וְשָׂרֵ֔ינוּ בְּעָרֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה וּבְחֻצ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וַנִּֽשְׂבַּֽע־לֶ֙חֶם֙ וַנִּהְיֶ֣ה טוֹבִ֔ים וְרָעָ֖ה לֹ֥א רָאִֽינוּ׃

English:

On the contrary, we will do everything that we have vowed —to make offerings to the Queen of Heaven and to pour libations to her, as we used to do, we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty to eat, we were well-off, and suffered no misfortune.

The people vow to continue burning incense to the 'queen of heaven' as their fathers, kings and princes did, for then they had plenty of bread and saw no evil. Metzudat David identifies her as the sun, the great star reigning over the others. Radak reads the word as 'the work of the heavens,' the stars, with a missing aleph, or alternatively from the root of kingship, the sun.

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וּמִן־אָ֡ז חָדַ֜לְנוּ לְקַטֵּ֨ר לִמְלֶ֧כֶת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהַסֵּֽךְ־לָ֥הּ נְסָכִ֖ים חָסַ֣רְנוּ כֹ֑ל וּבַחֶ֥רֶב וּבָרָעָ֖ב תָּֽמְנוּ׃

English:

But ever since we stopped making offerings to the Queen of Heaven and pouring libations to her, we have lacked everything, and we have been consumed by the sword and by famine.

The argument from experience: since we stopped serving the queen of heaven we have lacked everything and been consumed by sword and famine. Metzudat David explains that from that time they lost all their prosperity. Radak observes sharply that in truth they never stopped; they meant that misfortune came because they had grown less zealous than before, and the prophet's answer addresses that claim.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וְכִֽי־אֲנַ֤חְנוּ מְקַטְּרִים֙ לִמְלֶ֣כֶת הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְהַסֵּ֥ךְ לָ֖הּ נְסָכִ֑ים הֲמִֽבַּלְעֲדֵ֣י אֲנָשֵׁ֗ינוּ עָשִׂ֨ינוּ לָ֤הּ כַּוָּנִים֙ לְהַ֣עֲצִבָ֔הֿ וְהַסֵּ֥ךְ לָ֖הּ נְסָכִֽים׃ {ס}         

English:

And when we make offerings to the Queen of Heaven and pour libations to her, is it without our husbands’ approval that we have made cakes in her likeness and poured libations to her?”

The women speak for themselves: is it without our husbands that we made cakes in her image and poured libations? Rashi explains 'without our husbands' as without their knowledge, and the cakes as molded in the shape of an image. Radak notes that the women speak because they were the principal actors. Metzudat David hears a challenge: why rebuke us before our husbands, who agree with us?
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
המבלעדי אנשינו. שלא מדעתם: כוונים להעציבה. דפוסים כדמות עצבים (עצבים דמות עלמה כמו לעיל כב):
without our husbands Without their knowledge. cakes in her image Heb. כונים להעצבה, molds in the shape of idols (idols in the shape of a young lady as above ch. 22:28).

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֖הוּ אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֑ם עַל־הַגְּבָרִ֤ים וְעַל־הַנָּשִׁים֙ וְעַל־כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם הָעֹנִ֥ים אֹת֛וֹ דָּבָ֖ר לֵאמֹֽר׃

English:

Jeremiah replied to all the people, men and women—all the people who argued with him. He said,

Yirmiyahu answers all the people, the men and the women, who had replied to him. Metzudat David explains that he addresses first the men who knew of their wives' incense, since they had opened the reply, and then the rest of the people who followed them; 'answer,' he notes, refers to the speech just quoted. The prophet does not leave the argument from experience unanswered.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

הֲל֣וֹא אֶת־הַקִּטֵּ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר קִטַּרְתֶּ֜ם בְּעָרֵ֤י יְהוּדָה֙ וּבְחֻצ֣וֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ֔͏ִם אַתֶּ֧ם וַאֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֛ם מַלְכֵיכֶ֥ם וְשָׂרֵיכֶ֖ם וְעַ֣ם הָאָ֑רֶץ אֹתָם֙ זָכַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה וַֽתַּעֲלֶ֖ה עַל־לִבּֽוֹ׃

English:

“Indeed, the offerings you presented in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem—you, your ancestors, your kings, your officials, and the people of the land—were remembered by GOD and brought to mind!

The prophet turns the chronology around: the incense you, your fathers, kings and princes burned in Yehudah, God remembered and it came upon His heart. Metzudat David explains that although He did not punish at once, He did not forget. Both he and Radak note the plural 'them,' for the many gods each had their own incense. The delay was patience, not approval.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וְלֹא־יוּכַל֩ יְהֹוָ֨ה ע֜וֹד לָשֵׂ֗את מִפְּנֵי֙ רֹ֣עַ מַעַלְלֵיכֶ֔ם מִפְּנֵ֥י הַתּוֹעֵבֹ֖ת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עֲשִׂיתֶ֑ם וַתְּהִ֣י אַ֠רְצְכֶ֠ם לְחׇרְבָּ֨ה וּלְשַׁמָּ֧ה וְלִקְלָלָ֛ה מֵאֵ֥ין יוֹשֵׁ֖ב כְּהַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

When GOD could no longer bear your evil practices and the abominations you committed, your land became a desolate ruin and a curse, without inhabitant, as is still the case.

When God could no longer bear their evil deeds and abominations, the land became a ruin, a desolation and a curse, without inhabitant. Rashi explains the unusual form ולא יוכל as 'He could not.' Metzudat David explains that God could no longer endure and extend His patience, and therefore the land lies desolate 'as on this day.'
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
ולא יוכל ה' עוד לשאת. כמו ולא יכול:
And He could no longer bear Heb. ולא יוּכַל, like ולא יָכוֹל, and He could not.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

מִפְּנֵי֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר קִטַּרְתֶּ֜ם וַאֲשֶׁ֧ר חֲטָאתֶ֣ם לַיהֹוָ֗ה וְלֹ֤א שְׁמַעְתֶּם֙ בְּק֣וֹל יְהֹוָ֔ה וּבְתֹרָת֧וֹ וּבְחֻקֹּתָ֛יו וּבְעֵדְוֺתָ֖יו לֹ֣א הֲלַכְתֶּ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֞ן קָרָ֥את אֶתְכֶ֛ם הָרָעָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את כַּיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {ס}         

English:

Because you burned incense and sinned against GOD and did not obey GOD—whose Teaching, whose laws, and whose exhortations you did not follow—therefore this disaster has befallen you, as is still the case.”

The verdict: this evil befell you because you burned incense, sinned, and did not walk in God's Torah, statutes and testimonies. Metzudat David states the point plainly against the women's argument: the disaster did not come because you stopped burning incense, but because you burned it in the first place. Radak adds a note on the vocalization of ובעדותיו.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יִרְמְיָ֙הוּ֙ אֶל־כׇּל־הָעָ֔ם וְאֶ֖ל כׇּל־הַנָּשִׁ֑ים שִׁמְעוּ֙ דְּבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה כׇּל־יְהוּדָ֕ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

English:

Jeremiah further said to all the people, including all the women: “Hear the word of GOD, all Judeans in the land of Egypt!

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָֽה־צְבָאוֹת֩ אֱלֹהֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל לֵאמֹ֗ר אַתֶּ֨ם וּנְשֵׁיכֶ֜ם וַתְּדַבֵּ֣רְנָה בְּפִיכֶם֮ וּבִידֵיכֶ֣ם מִלֵּאתֶ֣ם ׀ לֵאמֹר֒ עָשֹׂ֨ה נַעֲשֶׂ֜ה אֶת־נְדָרֵ֗ינוּ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָדַ֙רְנוּ֙ לְקַטֵּר֙ לִמְלֶ֣כֶת הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וּלְהַסֵּ֥ךְ לָ֖הּ נְסָכִ֑ים הָקֵ֤ים תָּקִ֙ימְנָה֙ אֶת־נִדְרֵיכֶ֔ם וְעָשֹׂ֥ה תַעֲשֶׂ֖ינָה אֶת־נִדְרֵיכֶֽם׃ {ס}         

English:

Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have confirmed by deed what you spoke in words: ‘We will fulfill the vows that we made, to burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and to pour libations to her.’ So fulfill your vows; perform your vows!

A bitterly sarcastic permission: you and your wives spoke with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, so go ahead -- establish your vows and perform them. Metzudat David explains that husbands and wives are of one mind, the women saying what the men told them. Radak explains the address as directed at the women, since they were the principal actors, though the men are included.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

לָכֵן֙ שִׁמְע֣וּ דְבַר־יְהֹוָ֔ה כׇּל־יְהוּדָ֕ה הַיֹּשְׁבִ֖ים בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם הִנְנִ֨י נִשְׁבַּ֜עְתִּי בִּשְׁמִ֤י הַגָּדוֹל֙ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה אִם־יִהְיֶה֩ ע֨וֹד שְׁמִ֜י נִקְרָ֣א ׀ בְּפִ֣י ׀ כׇּל־אִ֣ישׁ יְהוּדָ֗ה אֹמֵ֛ר חַי־אֲדֹנָ֥י יֱהֹוִ֖ה בְּכׇל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

English:

“Yet hear the word of GOD, all Judeans who dwell in the land of Egypt! Lo, I swear by My great name—said GOD—that none of Judah’s contingent in all the land of Egypt shall ever again invoke My name, saying, ‘As my Sovereign GOD lives!’

God swears by His great name that it will no longer be invoked by any man of Yehudah in Egypt saying 'as the Lord GOD lives.' Radak explains: since they reject what the prophet says in His name, His name will no longer be on their lips, and 'every man' means most of them, since there were righteous ones among them. Metzudat David notes that the few survivors will invoke it in Yehudah.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

הִנְנִ֨י שֹׁקֵ֧ד עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם לְרָעָ֖ה וְלֹ֣א לְטוֹבָ֑ה וְתַ֩מּוּ֩ כׇל־אִ֨ישׁ יְהוּדָ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר בְּאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֛יִם בַּחֶ֥רֶב וּבָרָעָ֖ב עַד־כְּלוֹתָֽם׃

English:

I will be watchful over them to their hurt, not to their benefit; all of Judah’s contingent in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by sword and by famine, until they cease to be.

God will watch over them (שוקד) for evil and not for good, and all of Yehudah in Egypt will be consumed by sword and famine until they are gone. Metzudat David explains the verb as zeal and haste in bringing the punishment. The word recalls the almond-branch vision of the prophet's call (1:11-12), where God watched over His word to fulfill it.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וּפְלִיטֵ֨י חֶ֜רֶב יְשֻׁב֨וּן מִן־אֶ֧רֶץ מִצְרַ֛יִם אֶ֥רֶץ יְהוּדָ֖ה מְתֵ֣י מִסְפָּ֑ר וְֽיָדְע֞וּ כׇּל־שְׁאֵרִ֣ית יְהוּדָ֗ה הַבָּאִ֤ים לְאֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ לָג֣וּר שָׁ֔ם דְּבַר־מִ֥י יָק֖וּם מִמֶּ֥נִּי וּמֵהֶֽם׃

English:

Only the few who survive the sword shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah. All the remnant of Judah who came to the land of Egypt to sojourn there shall learn whose word will be fulfilled—Mine or theirs!

Only a handful who escape the sword will return from Egypt to Yehudah, and then the remnant will know whose word stands, God's or theirs. Radak names the 'men of number' as Yirmiyahu, Baruch and a few other righteous people. Metzudat David frames the contest explicitly: God said they would perish in Egypt, they said they would dwell there securely.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וְזֹאת־לָכֶ֤ם הָאוֹת֙ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה כִּי־פֹקֵ֥ד אֲנִ֛י עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם בַּמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה לְמַ֙עַן֙ תֵּֽדְע֔וּ כִּי֩ ק֨וֹם יָק֧וּמוּ דְבָרַ֛י עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְרָעָֽה׃ {פ}

English:

“And this shall be the sign to you—declares GOD—that I am going to deal with you in this place, so that you may know that My threats of punishment against you will be fulfilled:

God announces a sign that He will punish them in this place, so that they will know His words against them will surely stand. Metzudat David explains that the sign is the one described in the next verse, Pharaoh's fall to Nevuchadnetzar. Radak adds that when they soon see Nevuchadnetzar come against Pharaoh, as prophesied, they will know their own end in Egypt is sealed.

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

כֹּ֣ה ׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֗ה הִנְנִ֣י נֹ֠תֵ֠ן אֶת־פַּרְעֹ֨ה חׇפְרַ֤ע מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ בְּיַ֣ד אֹֽיְבָ֔יו וּבְיַ֖ד מְבַקְשֵׁ֣י נַפְשׁ֑וֹ כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֜תִּי אֶת־צִדְקִיָּ֣הוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָ֗ה בְּיַ֨ד נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֧ר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶ֛ל אֹיְב֖וֹ וּמְבַקֵּ֥שׁ נַפְשֽׁוֹ׃ {ס}         

English:

Thus said GOD: I will deliver Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, into the hands of his enemies, those who seek his life, just as I delivered King Zedekiah of Judah into the hands of King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon, his enemy who sought his life.”

The sign: Pharaoh Chofra (Hophra) will be handed to his enemies just as Tzidkiyahu was handed to Nevuchadnetzar. Metzudat David explains that every Egyptian king was called Pharaoh and that this was his own name. Rashi cites Targum Yonatan's 'the broken Pharaoh,' the chet standing for a heh, and Radak records both views. The refugees' protector will fall like Tzidkiyahu, who also trusted Egypt.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
פרעה חפרע. פרעה תבירא וחי"ת זו משמשת במקו' ה"א:
Pharaoh Hophra Heb. פרעה חפרע, rendered by Jonathan as פרעֹה תבירה, the broken Pharaoh, and this 'heth' serves instead of a 'heh.'

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